Somerset House And Attached Railings

Somerset House and attached railings, located at No. 14 Clarendon Place, Royal Leamington Spa, were built between 1836 and 1837 by William Startin. Originally a house, it now serves as offices and has undergone late 20th-century alterations and restoration. The building features pinkish-brown brick with a painted stucco facade and a Welsh slate roof.

The exterior consists of three storeys with three first-floor windows. It has a stepped plinth topped by full-height pilasters adorned with anthemion decoration at the cornice. The frieze includes egg-and-dart moulding, and there is a cornice with a blocking course. The first floor is fitted with 12/12 sash windows that have eared architraves, while the second floor also has 12/12 sashes but with anthemion horns. The ground floor features steps leading to a central entrance, which includes an 8-panel door flanked by sidelights and slender pilasters, along with a modillion cornice and an overlight with glazing bars. There is a distyle Adamesque porch with a frieze decorated with laurel wreaths, a cornice, and a blocking course. Tall 6/9 sashes are set in architraves with acanthus decoration. The left return of the building has similar window arrangements.

Inside, some ground-floor rooms have moulded cornices. The property also features lancet railings as subsidiary elements. Historically, Somerset House was constructed as the left-hand block of a proposed Arbenie Crescent, and part of the rear was destroyed by fire in the early 20th century. Clarendon Place was laid out in 1825.